The East Tennessee State women’s volleyball team beat Elon Saturday night in Brooks Gym.
“We must be mentally focused against Elon, and if we take what we did tonight, we will be successful,” Head Coach Lindsey Devine said before the game.
This is exactly what the ETSU (9-21, 7-11 SoCon) Buccaneers did – they focused and in return, were victorious. The win over Elon – 30-26, 30-16 and 30-24 – came with a struggle. In the end, the Buccaneers proved their performance level.
Although it was Senior Night for the volleyball program, the greatest performance of the night came from sophomore Sara Scandiffio, who had a match-high 17 kills and .536 kill percentage, both being her career best.
“Sara proved once again just how big of an asset she is to this team,” Devine said. “She was a wall out there and was instrumental in some of our key points.”
Elon started out strong and led game one by a score of 8-1. The Buccaneers battled to tie the score at 13-13 before ending the game with a 30-26 victory.
ETSU then sprung out to an early lead in game two.
The Phoenixes were able to keep it close for the extent of the game, but ETSU pulled off the win.
ETSU took control of game three from the beginning. The Buccaneers sealed the match on a thunderous kill by senior Kate Steidle.
Three players reached double digits in kills for the Phoenixes, led by Emily Downing’s 12 kills. Juliena Gigon and Emily Hayes had 10 kills each.
Hart had 37 assists, including the team’s lone service ace. Meanwhile, M.K. Spear and Maria LaBrutto recorded 11 and 10 digs.
These efforts by the Phoenixes, though, just were not a match for the heart and skills of the Buccaneers.
Steidle recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. Freshman Kristi Robinson had 41 assists and a match-high 16 digs. Also, freshman Kelsey Sherich hit .438 for the match and added 10 kills on 16 attempts.
Senior Lissa Allen, who set the school record Friday night for attack percentage, was held to only five kills and three blocks. Both seniors, Steidle and Allen were honored before the match.
“It was nice to highlight our two seniors who have continued to lead this team this year,” Devine said .
With this victory, ETSU earned a spot in the Southern Conference tournament next weekend in Chattanooga. ETSU will represent the SoCon’s North Division as the No. 4 seed this Friday at 3 p.m.
The Bucs will play the top-seeded team in the South, which will either be College of Charleston or Georgia Southern depending on Sunday’s results.
Charleston defeated ETSU in the tournament opener last season by a score of 3-0. The Buccaneers have dropped two matches to the Georgia Southern this season.

Author